1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an access port for use in minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as endoscopic or laparoscopic-type procedures, and more particularly to an expanding surgical access port for use in minimally invasive procedures.
2. Background of Related Art
Today, many surgical procedures are performed through small incisions in the skin, as compared to the larger incisions typically required in traditional procedures, in an effort to reduce both trauma to the patient and recovery time. Generally, such procedures are referred to as “endoscopic”, unless performed on the patient's abdomen, in which case the procedure is referred to as “laparoscopic”. Throughout the present disclosure, the term “minimally invasive” should be understood to encompass both endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures. During a typical minimally invasive procedure, surgical objects, such as surgical access ports (e.g., trocar and/or cannula assemblies), endoscopes, or other instruments, are inserted into the patient's body through the incision in tissue. Prior to the introduction of the surgical object into the patient' body, insufflation gasses may be used to enlarge the area surrounding the target surgical site to create a larger, more accessible work area. Accordingly, the maintenance of a substantially fluid-tight seal is desirable so as to prevent the escape of the insufflation gases and the deflation or collapse of the enlarged surgical site.
To this end, various access members are used during the course of minimally invasive procedures and are widely known in the art. A continuing need exists for an access member of a universal size that can be inserted into a variety of tissue incision sites and expands to fit such a variety of larger tissue incision sites. It is desirable to accommodate a variety of tissue incisions, and adapt to changing conditions at the surgery site.